The Butlers give Dubuque all 3 T’s [Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, IA)] (2024)

first citizen reception The Telegraph Herald public reception honoring John and Alice Butler, recipients of the 42nd annual TH First Citizen Award, will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, in the Harbor Room at the Diamond Jo Casino. A brief program will begin at 6 p.m.

Efforts to sustain and improve any community or organization invariably require people to step up and donate the "Three T's" - time, talent and treasure.

An individual or couple, typically provides just one or two of those T's. That is important, but it can take the initiative only so far.

Many wonderful people donate their time for good causes. They volunteer in our schools and places of worship. They give up chunks of their evenings and weekends to coach youth sports, to remove litter from roadside ditches or to distribute food to the needy. They serve as ushers, greeters and guides in our many fine arts venues.

Other people have particular talents that they share voluntarily in the spirit of civic betterment. They are lawyers and accountants who donate their skills to nonprofit groups. They are the local musicians, artists and actors whose work is enjoyed by the community at large. They are the business leaders who break away from their duties in the office to help the efforts of chambers of commerce and economic development organizations.

A community fortunate enough to have many people contributing the T of time and the T of talent is ahead of the game. But there are occasions and initiatives for which time and talent won't get the job done. The only solution is the third T - treasure.

That final T means having someone who, in addition to giving time and talent, also is willing to open his or her checkbook. It is a way to ensure that what needs to be done for community betterment gets done. The T of treasure tends to be in shorter supply than the other two.

Over the more than four decades the Telegraph Herald has presented its First Citizen Award, the honorees have included dedicated people who have selflessly and consistently donated one or two of the T's, usually time and talent.

In the recipients of the 42nd annual First Citizen Award, John and Alice Butler, we have a couple who have generously shared with the Dubuque community all three T's. They have donated their time, their talent and, yes, their treasure to fuel civic betterment and the quality of life.

Consider key improvements in Dubuque, and chances are that John and Alice Butler were involved in many of them.

Consider what downtown Dubuque might look like today without their commitment to make dazzling renovations of two Main Street buildings, including the Security Building, headquarters of John's insurance brokerage firm, Cottingham & Butler, which has grown from two employees in 1957 to 400 today. Consider the Grand Opera House without its total rehab a few years ago. Or the Dubuque Museum of Art. And how would our symphony sound without the Butlers' support?

Away from downtown, consider the amazing of recovery the University of Dubuque, which has benefited from John's donation of time and talent the past 30 years as a trustee, and which recently announced that the Butlers made a challenge grant to the university in the amount of $5 million.

Even if one endeavored to name every organization and civic cause that has benefited from the generosity of John and Alice Butler over the years, the attempt would fail. Many times they donate with the hope (and sometimes the understanding) that they would stay, if not anonymous, at least out of the spotlight. However, as fundraisers note, a project that is supported by John and Alice Butler has a running start toward success - not only because of their financial boost but because their endorsem*nt positively influences other potential donors.

In John and Alice Butler, Dubuque has the total package: Civic leaders who have long invested in their community all three T's - time, talent and treasure. The Telegraph Herald is proud to name them recipients of the 42nd annual TH First Citizen Award.

Editorials reflect the consensus of the Telegraph Herald Editorial Board.